Extensible markup language (XML) is increasingly becoming the preferred format for transferring information. XML is a tag-based hierarchical language that is extremely rich in terms of the information that it can be used to represent. For example, XML can be used to represent information spanning the spectrum from semi-structured information (such as one would find in a word processing document) to generally structured information (such as that which is contained in a table). XML is well-suited for many types of communication including business-to-business and client-to-server communication. For more information on XML, XSLT, and XML Schema, the reader is referred to the following documents which are the work of, and available from the W3C (World Wide Web consortium): XML 1.0 second edition specification; XSL Transformations (XSLT) Version 1.0; XML Schema Part 1: Structures; and XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes.
Before information can be transferred, however, it must first be collected. Electronic forms are commonly used to collect information. One way to collect information and have it also in an XML document is to have the electronic form correspond to an XML schema. By so doing, the information entered into an electronic form can be stored in an XML document, which conforms to the XML schema. Having information within an XML document that conforms to an XML schema allows the XML document to be understood and validated when transferred to others having access to the XML schema.
Currently, to begin creating an electronic form corresponding to an XML schema, a skilled programmer can write an XML schema and then, once the XML schema is written, abstract how information conforming to that schema will be entered. With the abstraction of how the information will be entered, the programmer can then create an electronic form that maps data-entry fields to that schema. The programmer can map data-entry fields to that schema using an XML path language (XPath), such as the W3C-standard XML path language (information about which is currently available from W3C at www.w3.org/TR/xpath). This process of creating an electronic form, however, is time consuming and can require a programmer of significant skill.
To create these electronic forms, the programmer often needs a significant understanding of HTML and XML Schemas. The programmer, to build an electronic form with even moderately complex data-entry fields-such as repeating data-entry fields—often needs to understand how these data-entry fields are represented in the schema, HTML file, and XML data file. Also, to build a relatively simple electronic form with simple data-entry fields the programmer often needs to understand how HTML, XML, and XML Schemas are structured and how they are interrelated. Thus, to build one of these electronic forms, a programmer often must have significant experience and skill.
For these reasons, creating electronic forms and corresponding schemas can be difficult, time consuming, and require a programmer of significant skill.